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(( Yeah, we have to save all the good stuff until they're at least teenagers. ;D ;D ))


"Dat'un?"

A small, scale mottled hand lifted, chubby fingers pointing towards a store that was full of clothing, shoes and accessories. It didn't seem to have anything in there that would appeal to a small child for more than a few moments, though he didn't seem to care as he turned his golden gaze up to the girl at his side, eyes questioning.

"Sure, why not?" Chey smiled down at Ophi, gently squeezing his hand and walking towards the store, pausing just long enough to call to the third and final member of their small party who was lingering a few yards behind, examining a case of jewelry in one of the store windows that they passed. "C'mon, Ma'man, we're going into this one."

The girl didn't even bother to wait for her mother to reply, shifting the two bags she carried in one hand, she pulled one of the two glass doors open and ushered the toddler in ahead of her; tail curling around to her side so it wouldn't get caught in the doorway. She bent over slightly to retrieve Ophi's hand once again, making sure to keep him at her side so he didn't wander off and get lost... again.

"Maybe they've got some clothes in here for you, you probably need them more than I do." Glancing back to the door as Rhia entered, Chey arched her brows at her mother as she came to stand next to them. The girl's crimson gaze pointedly fixed on the unlit cigarette in her mother's hand.

"What?" Rhia spat, her irritation evident immediately. She slid the cigarette behind one long ear and crossed her arms over her ample chest, looking down at her daughter through black lenses. "It's bullshit that you can't smoke here."

One of Chey's eyes squinted shut slightly, mouth quirking to one side as her mother swore. Leave it to Rhia to not care what habits Ophi picked up; now that he was starting to talk more, he frequently mimicked what people around him said.... and the people around him were prone to swearing. "I'm going to see if I can find some little kid clothes. Would you mind looking for a top for me to go with that black skirt we just got me?"

"Sure, I'll see what I can find." Rhia, holding a small bag of her own, rolled her shoulders, her large wings shifting with the movement, and bent down to plant a quick kiss on the top of Ophi's head. He tilted his head back to look up at her, a smile appearing and revealing his fangs. "Stay with Chey, alright? I'll catch up to you guys in a few minutes."

"Okay." He said quietly, turning and following Chey as she weaved through the racks of shirts, pants, skirts and jackets. Ophi was less interested in the clothes as he was the few people he saw in brief glimpses. His slitted eyes flicked to and fro, his hand unconsciously tightening around Chey's index finger, and every so often the tip of his forked tongue would slip out from between his grey-green lips. He was a little uncomfortable being in a place he didn't know, but the feeling wasn't that bothersome at the moment. He was with Chey, and he knew Mama was around somewhere; if anything bad were to happen, she was certainly the one he'd want around.

Rhia watched them go for a moment, dark lips pulled into a grim line as her mind wandered, and she abruptly gave her head a light shake; pulling herself back to the present with visible effort. Turning towards the closest group of tops, she glanced towards two individuals that caught her eye. Her tail idly swayed back and forth behind her as she studied them, a soft chime of recognition sounding in the back of her mind. After a moment or two of mulling it over and remembering nothing about the fox girl and the woman with the wings sprouting from her head, she simply pushed it from her mind and proceeded to look through the shirts, the fact that she had perhaps briefly seen them at a certain Halloween party failing to dawn on her.

Rhia caught the woman's eye as she gazed over at the demoness, her nose crinkling just slightly in distaste as the woman averted her gaze just a little too quickly. Narrowing her pallid eyes behind the sunglasses she wore, she turned them down to the top she had been examining. It looked like something Chey would be interested in, and it was black with a splash of dark red across the front; perfect for the skirt her daughter had bought. She gave one last condescending glance towards the two that had entered, more so to the redhead than to the fox girl, and gave a soft snort; placing the shirt's hanger on her wrist and turning her winged back to them. Everyone was entitled to their rude moments, but anyone that knew Rhia could attest that she had lately been abusive to that privilege.

Chey and Ophi had ventured further towards the back of the store, though it was rather small compared to some stores that lined the mall's interior. The child was completely immersed in his surroundings, and for the moment clearly enjoying the sounds, smells and even the different textures of the fabric he touched as they brushed passed. Rarely did he like being in places that were so noisy and crowded, but for the moment he was enthralled with the seemingly endless supply of colorful fabric, tassels and belts. Golden eyes flashing, he reached out every chance he got and ran his fingers across an article of clothing or toyed with the beaded fringes of a belt, retreating to walk directly at Chey's side only when a stranger got too close. His thick tail curled curiously behind him the moment he caught sight of two forms through a makeshift aisle; both standing out against the store's other occupants just as much as he, Chey and Rhia did.

"Wook." He stopped abruptly, causing Chey to halt in her tracks and turn to look down at him. He was looking up at her expectantly, as if she should know immediately what he had wanted her to see. When she stood silent for a moment, brow furrowed as she gazed down at him in confusion, he blew air out his nose loudly and scrunched up his face a bit; clearly impatient with her lack of understanding. He turned and lifted his free hand, index finger pointing through the lines of clothing to the girl with the fox ears and tail and the woman she was with. "Righ' dere."

"Ophi, it's not polite to point at people." Chey said quietly, squatting down for a moment to scoop the winged boy into her arms. "They're both very interesting, yes, but we're here for clothes."

"Hat..." He said softly, ignoring Chey entirely. He was clearly puzzled that the woman should have small wings upon her head, and he continued to stare a moment longer; lower lip sticking out slightly and brows knitted, concentrating hard on the pair and trying to come to some sort of conclusion. "Dat... dat da dog?"

Chey laughed softly and pursed her lips together, trying to keep from attracting attention to herself, namely the attention of the two beings the toddler was so interested in. "No, Ophi, she's not a dog. She's maybe... a kitsune of some kind, a fox. Kind of like a dog, but not really, I don't think you'd understand if I explained it to you. Now let's look for more clothes, okay?"

This time Chey carried him, turning her attention back to searching the rest of the store for clothes, but Ophi didn't lose interest that quickly. He had never seen someone with wings on their head before, nor had he seen someone like the girl with the fox ears and tail. The closest thing he had seen was Madison, but she was different, and the snake child continued to peer over Chey's shoulder at the two, slitted eyes narrowed and bi-colored wings fidgeting curiously.

Chey had, like her mother, been drawn towards a little black shirt with a small, colored design on the front, only this shirt had its sides cleaved in two and held together by thin, red ribbons that crisscrossed up the sides. Her crimson eyes sparked at the sight of the top, all thoughts of children's clothing vanishing, and she set Ophi down next to her so she could hold it up and admire it. "Hey, Ophi, what do you think of... Ophi?"

She arched one brow and looked down, noting that the child was still completely ignoring her. Lifting her eyes, she followed his line of sight to where the girl he had been studying earlier was looking at a rack of shirts, and the young demon quirked her mouth and shrugged her shoulders lightly, turning her own attention back to the tops in front of her. "No wonder Ma'man kept you, you're as weird as the rest of us."

Ophi continued to pointedly ignore Chey, intently gazing across at the fox girl. He knew she was only pretended to not look at them; unlike Chey, he was able to see this clearly. Amused by the wave she offered him, his scaly lips twitched into a small grin and he glanced back to Chey, who was rummaging through a line of tops, apparently looking for her size. One couldn't really blame her for taking her eyes off the child, though Rhia certainly would have; both of her parents weren't known for their attention spans.

Ophi turned back to the girl to find she had picked up a nearby top and was now looking at him expectantly. His brow furrowed a moment, feathered wings rustling softly, before he took a small step away from Chey. Glancing back to make sure she wasn't looking and thus wouldn't scold him (as she had done in the previous store when he had ventured off), he turned and slowly wandered over to the fox girl; neck craning slightly so he could look at the top she held. He looked down at his own black t-shirt and then back up at the top she held, which looked only slightly bigger than the one the toddler currently wore.

Looking around for a moment, he reached up and grabbed the bottom hem of a dark orange shirt that hung nearby, a stylized, golden bird printed across the breast, and gave it a strong jerk. The shirt came off the hanger, leaving it naked upon the bar it hung, and the shirt came down upon the boy's head. His cobra hood flared slightly at this, tail lashing behind him and wing feathers bristling before he pulled the shirt from his head, blinking and turning back to the fox girl. Slitted eyes meeting hers, he slowly held it out to her, voice soft, "Dis one?"

While Shauna was examining the shirt, Ophi chanced a glance back in the direction of Chey, who was currently trying to get Rhia's attention without yelling at her. He pursed his lips for a moment, knowing that he should head back over there before Chey looked down and found him missing, or before Rhia came over and found that Chey had lost him again. Turning back to Shauna he looked up at her as she spoke to him, golden eyes shining dully.

"Taun." He said softly, pressing his tongue against his fangs as he tried out the new word. "Tauna. No dog." He shook his head - more to himself than to her - and promptly ignored Shauna's subtle question about his name, instead looking back around at the clothes. He found it rather entertaining to pick out clothes for people, and since Chey never seemed to let him do it (though occasionally she did allow him to pick clothes for her), he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip through his small fingers.

Slitted eyes casting a slightly guilty look towards Chey's back, he eased past Shauna in a manner that made it clear his looks weren't the only thing related to a snake; steps quiet and nimble. He reached up and snatched one of Shauna's fingers, wings folding tightly against his body and thick tail curling behind him as he gently tugged her, "Walk. Walk dis way."

Ophi didn't seem that interested in the differences between fox and dog, and though he had no idea what a fox was, other than an orange and white dog, he seemed content enough at the moment. A fox, not a dog. He shuffled along silently, slowly, eyes moving from his left to his right and back again, nearly in perfect unison with his tail. He liked it all really, and couldn't quite keep the small smile from touching his lips. Though he was part snake and prone to liking dark, enclosed spaces, he was also nothing more than a child; the colors, styles and textures capturing his eye and feeding his curiosity.

"That's what I'd like to know." Came a silky voice from behind the pair, seconding Shauna's query about where it was they were going. The boy stopped and blinked a few times, tail and wings drooping as he realized he was most likely in trouble. Chey was standing behind them with her hands on her slender hips, a single brow arched, "Would you mind telling me who's leading who this time?"

"Hi." Ophi said in the same quiet voice, peeking around Shauna's legs and turning his golden eyes up to look at Chey's disapproving face. He released Shauna's finger and stepped around her so he was in front of the blonde, pointing back at Shauna and doing a damned good job of pretending he had done nothing wrong. "Not da dog."

Chey managed a half-smile for the child before turning her gaze back to Shauna, tail languidly moving about. She seemed an expert at sending multiple meanings with just one look; her smile all rainbows and sunshine, yet her blood-hued eyes regarded the other girl with more than a little suspicion. "And you are?"

Chey studied Shauna intently, slitted pupils widening a touch as she watched the other girl lightly pat Ophi's head. Whether she was indeed telling the truth or not was still to be seen, but the young demon didn't see any harm in the situation. Even if Shauna had intended on taking Ophi, the girl wouldn't have gotten him past Rhia. Besides, it's not like Ophi had never wandered off before, so the girl's story probably wasn't a fabrication. The child seemed to get along better with older children, not younger children (or adults for that matter), and thus tended to gravitate towards that field when he didn't feel like being alone.

Ophi blinked as Shauna stuck her tongue out, momentarily perplexed as to why she was doing this. He hadn't exactly been paying attention to what had just been said, he was only half-listening for his name or waiting for Chey to take his hand and drag him back to Mama. Upon Shauna's teasing gesture, however, he let out a soft burst of air, the sound a soft hiss as the red and white feathers on his wings ruffled. His own tongue, forked and a dark grey in color, slipped out from between his scaled lips for a moment; the tip flicking a few times before it slipped back into his mouth and out of sight.

Unlike what her brother would have done, Chey kept the rude comments and questions that churned in her head silent, instead holding out her hand to Ophi after he had retaliated. The winged boy stepped to her side and curled his hand around her index finger, both of them turning their gazes back to Shauna. The blonde tilted her head a little, golden flecks in her small horns catching the light and throwing it off in dozens of small sparks. "He is cute, but he can also kill you. I suggest you keep away from his mouth." She wasn't trying to be rude, she was simply stating a fact. "I'm Cheyna, by the way, and I prefer Chey. Ophi and I are here with-" She paused a second, the word she was about to speak surely unintelligible to the fox girl, thus rephrasing the statement. "-with our mother. She hasn't been in the best of moods the past few days, but you're welcome to shop with us."

Being hugged was not something the serpent child was used to and it showed as he flared his hood, slitted pupils dilating slightly. He didn't seem to really mind the hug, but he didn't return it either, instead simply allowed Shauna quickly and lightly embrace him. As if to back up what Chey had just said, the boy yawned, revealing the pair of long, needle point fangs.

"Yeah, it is." Chey smiled and flicked her pointed ears, glad to have someone who was - appearance wise - around her own age. Not that she didn't mind Ophi's and Rhia's company; she loved them both dearly and spent as much time as she could with them, especially after what had happened a few weeks before. The same went with her brother, Cheylan, even if he wasn't the best of companionship more often than not. It was just nice to talk with someone who wasn't a family member once in awhile. "We haven't been shopping that long, we were actually looking for clothes for Ophi, but me being me, I found a few things. And Ma'man," Chey lifted her slender brows and shook her head a little, an amused smile on her dark lips. "She's worse than I am a lot of the time. She has more clothes than everyone in our house combined, and still she goes out and buys more."

The feathers of Ophi's wings ruffled and he flapped them once, his thick tail swaying behind him. He gently tugged on Chey's finger and looked up at her with his golden eyes, clearly done with simply standing here and talking. There was still much to see in the store, and in the mall itself, and the child seemed to think that it wouldn't sit around and wait for the two girls to finish talking. Chey laughed softly, the sound clear and melodious, "Okay, Ophi, whereto first?"

He looked up to Chey for a moment and then turned his attention to Shauna, at first acting as if he wanted one of them to decide. After a brief pause he turned and looked around, the tip of his tongue sliding into view only to disappear a split second later as he pointed in a random direction. "Dat way."